Combination lunch-box.



1. C. KUTSCHEH.

COMBINATION LUNCH BOX.

APPLlcATmN FILED 11Ec.1. 1916.

Patented Oct. 30, 1917.

THEODORE C. KUTSCHER, OF SEATTLE, WASINGTON.

COMBINATION LUNCH-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December l, 1916. Serial No. 134,416.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, 'lHnonoRE C. KUrsoHnR, a citizen of the United States, residing at Seattle, in the county of King, State of Washington, haveinvented a new and useful Combination launch-BOX; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and' exact description of the invention, such vas will enableiothersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to a lunch d box, and has for its object to provide a device of this character which embodies novel features of construction whereby a quantity of hot coffee, tea, or the like can be carried as well as the usual solid articles of food, the arrangement being very compact so that no space is lost.

Further objects of the invention are to provide a lunch box of this character which is comparatively simple' and inexpensive in its construction, which can be easily carried from place to place, which has no delicate parts to break and get out of cider, and which can be easily kept in a clean and sanitary condition.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel combinations and arrangements of the parts as will more fully appear as the description proceeds, the novel features thereof being pointed out in the appended claims.

For a full understanding of the invention, reference is. to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in .whiclu- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal sectional view through a lunch box constructed in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig'. l.

F ig. 3 is a front eleva-tion of the lion with the cover swung into an open position.

Corresponding and like parts are referred` to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by .the same reference characters.

The lunch box includes frame or casing which is preferably rectangular in shape, as shown, and which is open at one end. rThis casing is formed with spaced outer and inner walls 1` and 2 of aluminum or other sheet metal, the space between the outer and inner walls being filled with a non-heat conducting packing, consisting of an outer layer 3 of asbestos, an intermediate layers of waxed paper, and an inner layer 5 of felt. It has been found in practice that this form of insulation gives excellent results, the waxed paper preventing any yvapors or moisture from passing through the packing. The open end `of the casing `is adapted to be closed b a door 6 which is formed with spaced sieet metal walls and is filled with the same kind of packing as the case itself. One edge of thedoor is hingedly connected at? to one side of the case, while the swinging 'edge 'thereof carries a latch plate 8 which is adapted to be engaged by a swinging bolt 9. At the open end of the case the side walls thereof are beveled inwardly, as indicated at 10, and the edges of the door 6 are correspondingly7 beveled in order to obtain as close a lit as is possible. A packing ring lll of rubber or other suitable material is applied to the edges of the door 6 for engagement with the-beveled mouth l0 of the case toproduce an air-tight closure when the door 6 is tightly clamped in a closed position by the bolt 9.

Arranged within the interior of the outer case or shell of the lunch box is a tank l2, the exterior of the tank conforming exactly in size and shape with the interior of the case so as to ht accurately within the same, while the end of the tank which -faces the open end of the case is formed with a reentrant food receiving pocket 13. The walls of this pocket 13 are preferably spaced uniformly at all points from the outer wall of the tank 12, so that a tank chamber Mc is providedwhich extends around the sides of the case and also across the rear end thereof. it the forward end of the case the tank is provided at the top thereof with anair inlet l5, and at the bottom thereof with an outlet lo, said outlet being preferably provided with a suitable pouring spout 17. rlhe air inlet l5 is normally closed by a screw plug 18 while the outlet 16 is normally closed by a screw plug i9, these screw plugs projecting into pockets 2O in the inner face of the cover 6 when the said cover is closed.

The tank 12 is designed to receive hot coffee, tea or the like,- and may be rigidly secured within the case, if desired, although it is preferably made removable in order that it may be readily taken out and thoroughly cleansed at proper intervals of time. As shown by the drawing, the tankl2 is adapted to be slipped out of the case, and is provided upon the exterior thereof with an Patentes oet. sa iets.

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outwardly pressed annular rib 21 which is adapted to spring into a corresponding depression 22 in the inner wall 2 of the case, thereby holding the tank against accidental displacement, although it can be readily pulled out of position when a suiicient amount of force is applied thereto. If desired, the rentrant food receiving chamber or pocket 13 may be provided with a suitable depression 23 for the purpose of ena bling a tight grip to be obtained upon the tank when handling the same. A horizontal partition 24 extends across the rentrant food receiving chamber 13, and a drawer 25 is slidable within that portion of the chamber 13 under the horizontal partition. This drawer may be subdivided by the transverse wall 26 into separate compartments, and any portions of the lunch which it may be particularly desired to keep warm can be placed within this drawer. The bottom and sides of the drawer may be transversely grooved at 27 so as to have a spring engagement with a corresponding rib 28 pressed from the walls of the chamber 13. This arrangement takes up any looseness and prevents the drawer from shaking about as the lunch box is carried, although the drawer can be forcibly pulled out of position or inserted in position at any time. A suitable handle 29may be provided at the forward end of the drawer. The usual solid portions of the lunch are designed to be placed in the part of the food receiving chamber or pocket13 above the horizontal partition 24.

` The case itself is provided at the top thereof with a handle 30, and also with keepers 31 for engagement with a strap when it is desired to utilize a strap in carrying the lunch box. The hot liquid to be carried will be placed in the tank 12,' and owing to the fact that all of the walls of the box are effectively insulated, this liquid will remain warm for a considerable period of time. The other parts of the lunch within the drawer 25 will be kept warm by the heat from the liquid in the tank,`so that all of the parts of the lunch will be in palatable condition when the lunch box is opened. Everything is compactly arranged, and the great loss of space which is incident to carrying the usual cylindrically shaped walled iaeaeea and air insulated bottles is avoided. The upper compartment or pocket 13 is also designed to receive a sanitary drinking cup.

Having thus described the invention, what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:v- Y

1. A lunch box including an outer casing formed with insulated side walls and having an open end, a removable tank itted accurately within the casing and insertible through the open end thereof, said removable tank being formed with a rentrant food receiving chamber which faces the open end of the casing and is surrounded by the tank on all of its other sides, the side walls of the tank and casing being formed with corresponding grooves and ribs which extend transversely with respect thereto yand are arranged for a yieldable interlocking engagement with each other to hold the tank removably in position within the outer casing, and an insulated closure for the open end of the outer casing, said closure also tightly sealing the food receiving chamber of the tank and engaging the tank to lock it securely in position.

2. A lunch box including a double walled outer casing formed with an open end of whlch the edges are beveled inwardly, insulation arranged between the walls of the outer casing, a removable tank fitted accurately within the outer casing and insertible through the open. end thereof, said removable tank being formed With a rentrant food receiving chamber which faces .the open end of the casing and is surrounded by the spaced walls of the tank on all of its other sides, a double walled closure for the open end of the outer casing, the edges 

